SUPPORTERS of Jack Straw have told of their shock following allegations he offered to use his position on behalf of a fictitious company for cash.

Yesterday Mr Straw vowed to clear his name as he referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards while also voluntarily withdrawing from the Parliamentary Labour Party to allow an investigation to take place.

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It came as commentators said his actions were ‘ill advised’ and ‘ill timed’, while critics described them as ‘unacceptable’.

The allegations were made after secret filming by Channel 4 documentary programme Dispatches and the Daily Telegraph.

He is apparently shown offering his services to a private company for £5,000 a day.

Mr Straw claims he made it clear any work he offered to do would be after he stepped down.

Following the revelations Sir Bill Taylor, Mr Straw’s former election agent, described his actions as ‘ill-advised’ but added it would be ‘a temporary blip’ for an MP with a fantastic record.

However, Conservative borough leader Mike Lee said Mr Straw’s actions were ‘just wrong’ and ‘unacceptable’ and would be a blemish on the retiring MPs reputation.

Mr Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, another former foreign secretary, were involved in the ‘sting’ by journalists claiming to represent a Hong Kong-based communications agency called PMR, which was seeking to hire senior British politicians to join its advisory board.

Mr Straw, who has already announced he is stepping down as an MP in May, said he had acted within the rules.

He said: “Of course I am absolutely mortified that I managed to fall into this trap set by the reporters.

“I have done nothing wrong or improper. But of course, I appreciate the consequences of falling into this trap.

“They have caused a great distraction for my party and for me.”

Mr Straw, who is still waiting for the results of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war to be published, met the undercover reporters at his office in the Commons - a potential breach of Commons rules.

He is said to have described how he operated ‘under the radar’ to use his influence to change European Union rules on behalf of a commodity firm which paid him £60,000 a year.

He explained how he had helped ED&F Man, a sugar refinery in the Ukraine, by meeting officials in Brussels.

He was also said to have claimed to have used ‘charm and menace’ to convince the Ukrainian prime minister to change laws on behalf of the same firm.

Mr Straw said this had been a ‘colloquial’ turn of phrase, used to explain the benefits of discussing business out of the media.

The veteran MP yesterday said he made clear he would not take on the role while he remained an MP, but is said to have suggested that he could be more helpful to the company if he became a peer, as different rules apply.

He said: “Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph, despite my requests, have failed to supply me with a transcript of my discussions with the bogus company. So it is impossible to identify the context of any remarks they have taken from the transcript.

“I now face the horrible situation in which what I said is being used to suggest wrongdoing when there was none. But I’ve spent long enough in politics to know how some of the remarks I made in what I had thought was a private conversation will now be used.

“In view of this, and in order to clear my name, I have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to make a self-referral to her. I have also written to Rosie Winterton, Opposition Chief Whip, to say that pending consideration of my referral by the Commissioner I shall voluntarily withdraw from the Parliamentary Labour Party.”

Kensington MP Sir Malcolm, who first entered Parliament in 1974 and served for more than a decade in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, dismissed allegations of wrongdoing as ‘unfounded’ and vowed to fight them ‘with all my strength’.

Sir Bill Taylor, who is a former leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the results of any investigation into Mr Straw would not become clear until after the general election.

He said: “Mr Straw was ill-advised to get involved in this and it was also ill-timed.

“He has a fantastic track record as a local MP and nationally and internationally.

“I am disappointed, but I think this will be a temporary blip.”

Kate Hollern, current borough council leader and Blackburn’s prospective Labour candidate for the general election in May, said he had represented his constituency in an ‘excellent’ way for 36 years.

She said: “He has done some fantastic stuff.

“My understanding was that Mr Straw was lining things up for when he stops being an MP.

“He did a number of checks on the company and seemingly, it was a very credible address in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, he has been caught out.”

Coun Hussain Akhtar, a labour councillor for Blackburn’s Shear Brow ward, said he was ‘fully supportive’ of Mr Straw.

He said: “I know he has done nothing wrong and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, “Mr Straw has worked 24/7 for Blackburn and people appreciate 100 per cent what he has done for the town.”

Alistair Campbell, who is from Burnley and worked as director of communications and strategy for ex-prime minister Tony Blair, said he would not comment on the allegations, but added: “Mr Straw is a good MP and he always has been.”

Bob Eastwood, Blackburn’s Conservative candidate to stand against Coun Hollern in the general election, said he believed Mr Straw had ‘questions to answer’.

Mike Lee, Tory leader on Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the scandal would be a ‘blemish’ on Mr Straw’s record.

He said: “I am amazed and disappointed that a mainstream politicians like Mr Straw thinks it is ok to try and use his influence to make a personal gain. It is just wrong and it is unacceptable.”

Former prime minister Tony Blair came to the defence of Mr Straw, who served as home secretary, foreign secretary and leader of the Commons in his administrations.

Mr Blair said: “I have known Jack for over 30 years. He is a byword for being a hard-working constituency MP and parliamentarian.

“I can think of no-one who has more dedicated himself to public service.

“I am really sorry he has been caught up in a sting operation about a job offer after he retires from Parliament.

“It is typical of Jack that as soon as he was alerted of the sting against him he immediately contacted the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and asked her to investigate the case. I hope that the Commissioner will clear his name as soon as possible.”

Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour party, said the allegations were ‘disturbing’ and called for an investigation into MPs having second jobs.

He said: “We need a proper investigation of this, but I believe we need to go further.

“Labour candidates standing at the next election will be banned from taking paid directorships or consultancies.”